Have you tried searching for your business name on Google? What came up?

It’s nice to see a display that gives potential customers your phone number, location, hours of operation, customer reviews and a link to your site at once. It’s not a pipe dream—because a few years ago, Google gave you a chance to make such a killer digital display with the Google My Business. You likely just ignored it.

The Google My Business is an online tool no business can actually afford to ignore. It gives you an immediate edge when marketing to your local area. It also gives you the chance to show up in the life-changing Local 3-Pack that prominently displays the top results for local search. This means your business information and a link to your site shows up high in the search engine results page, which may then give you a boost in rankings for your main website, ultimately leading to more traffic.

But here’s the catch: You can only enjoy all of what it has to offer once you’ve verified and properly optimized your listing (preferably with dozens of five-star reviews).

Ensure Your Listing is Complete and Accurate

Make your listing as rich and as complete as possible, and add the small details like opening hours and photos. A complete listing provides better user experience, which is something Google always rewards.

Make sure the listing reflects your real-world business name as it is used on your storefront and as it is known by your local customers, too.

Choose the Proper Business Categories

Help Google help you by choosing the right categories. You can select more than one, but don’t go too crazy. Just make sure that if you think your business falls on more than one category, choose the most relevant ones.

Encourage More Reviews

Whether you love reviews or not, they’re going to happen. So, from a digital marketing perspective, it’s important to make it easy for customers to leave them. You can do that with Google My Business by simply registering your business; customers can simply add their review just by Googling your brand name.

Once you claim your map listing, you can start asking your customers to write reviews. The more reviews you can get, obviously, the better your business will look.

Include Good Photos

The right photo can go a long way for your Google My Business listing. A survey showed that photos are one of the few things that stand out for users viewing search listings.

If you have a business like a restaurant or hotel, you want customers to see what it’s like inside. So, make sure you put excellent interior photos. If you want customers to know what your location looks like from the outside, on the other hand, put recognizable photos to help customers find your business. Photos that capture the work atmosphere of your business would be a good idea, too.

Establish a Strong Web Presence; Build Links

Google looks at all your mentions, back links, and web properties to establish your authority and improve search results. So, start growing your web presence using your business blog, social media accounts, and other local sites with the help of our Internet marketing company. This way, you can your business is credible in the eyes of Google.

Source: https://www.wordstream.com/link-building

For best results, build links by creating content about the local area. Use branded geo-targeted keywords as well.

These things can make your listing—and your business—stand out, but you can do more by hooking up Google Analytics, adding a few videos, and checking your Google My Business Insights regularly.

If your business doesn’t have a Google My Business page yet, C1 Partners, the leading experts in Denver Internet marketing, suggests you create one right away—or have us do it for you. Call C1 Partners today.